PREPARING FOR A GOOD YEAR

Of course, I ate all the traditional dishes for a complete New Year's Day meal.  Black eyed peas, cabbage, ham, sweet taters, greens, cornbread--you know all those dishes known to guarantee you a great year.  I don't even like some of those --but I ate them anyway.  Wouldn't want to take any chances!  First thing that goes haywire--I would remember I didn't eat those darn peas!  Thank goodness I was invited to eat away from home--WHAT would I do with those leftovers that I didn't particularly want the first time!

I even made those resolutions in yesterday's post.  If I put them on sticky notes, it would be FAR too easy to have one mysteriously disappear.  SO, I put them in the blog and now you ALL can hold me accountable.  Hopefully you have something better to do than follow me around holding my feet to the fire.  Would not want to not stick to something I started (AGAIN)!

The tree is down and the decorations are all neatly put away.  I read somewhere at some point in my life it was bad luck to have the tree still up on New Year's Day.  So to be safe I have spent three days putting all this stuff away AGAIN!  I have had a couple of people dispute this and tell me you leave them up to Epiphany.  I noticed those two still had their decorations up.  Really feel sorry for them as who knows what this year will hold for them NOW!

The first day of the New Year and I have followed all the rules, superstitions, and customs guaranteed to ensure a great year.  NOW if something goes wrong---WHO do I blame?  After all I certainly did my part---ON THE FIRST DAY.  The next 364 days--are a shoe in since I started the year right.

It is so easy to start right.  The tricky part is following through the rest of the year with what you started.  Our diet soon disintegrates into a smorgasbord of fast food, high fat, sugar laced, nutrient poor, I don't have time to think about it feast.  Those resolutions become suggestions at the first opportunity to blow it off.  And that neat --freshly cleaned--non cluttered house after the Christmas put away soon resembles an emerging hoarder's central.

Such good intentions--such new beginnings--such turning the leaf over--and WHAM!  we are defeated by the first slip down the slippery slope of good intentions gone bad.  HERE is the truth about it---EVERY DAY can be a NEW YEAR.  We are not limited to start overs--do agains--new beginnings by the calendar.  When we slip and fall--fail to follow through--we can start yet again!
Everyday can be the day we start eating better when we over indulge in all the wrong things; every day can be a day to restart the quest to follow through on our resolutions; and every day can be spring cleaning day.  Second chances abound and our failures do not define us.  We are defined by our willingness to begin again and try harder.

So it is with God.  He is indeed the God of second chances--and third and fourth and on and on.  He desires for us to succeed in growing closer to Him.  He desires for us to be obedient.  He desires for us to seek Him.  When we fail--when we are disappointed in our aborted attempt~HE WANTS US TO TRY AGAIN AND TRY HARDER.  Tomorrow is a new day--a new beginning--and tomorrow I am going to really try to do better. Even if I don't He still loves me and gives me yet another day to start again--

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15